A&E: Behind the Scene, May 19

May 16, 2013

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Jokesters looking for a home

The local comedy school Anything Improv is scouting around for a permanent home. A cabaret-style club would serve as a home base not only for Anything Improv, but other local groups such as Banana Punch, Comedy Xperiment and the Comedy Co-op, all of which currently bounce around to several downtown venues. Anything Improv students recently started performing most Monday nights at the Gas Lamp.

The group hopes to buy audio-visual equipment for the future space with donations from fellow comedians and the general public via the crowd-funding site www.kickstarter.com.

Norwalk student earns more than an A

Congressman Tom Latham paid a surprise visit last week to Norwalk High School to congratulate sophomore Aleyna Moeller on winning the Congressional Art Competition for Iowa’s 3rd District. Her charcoal drawing, “Contemplation,” will hang for a year at the U.S. Capitol, where a little more contemplation wouldn’t hurt.

Moeller will receive two plane tickets to attend a recognition ceremony in Washington on June 26, plus a $3,000 scholarship from the Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design.

They've been dancing 100 years

A century before “Dancing With the Stars” waltzed into pop culture, Vernon and Irene Castle sparked a ballroom dance revolution with their performances on Broadway and in the movies. But they had a more lasting impact in the so-called Castle Clubs that sprang up nationwide. The one in Des Moines, which may be the only one left, celebrated its 100th anniversary with a dinner and dance Saturday night. The club gathered for years at Hoyt Sherman Place but now hosts about seven dances a year with its own orchestra at the Des Moines Embassy Club.